Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $26.54 Million Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,595 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 11,025 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $26,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Home Depot by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,737,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,918,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698,402 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Home Depot by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after acquiring an additional 153,141 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 105,205.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,472,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Home Depot by 14.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,729,735 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,211,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HD opened at $334.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $331.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $369.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Profile

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States and internationally. It sells various building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and décor products, as well as facilities maintenance, repair, and operations products. The company also offers installation services for flooring, water heaters, bath, garage doors, cabinets, cabinet makeovers, countertops, sheds, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.